FBI 'Ignored Leads'

The German authorities have rejected reports that an Iranian man detained in Hanover could have helped avert Tuesday's devastating attacks on New York and Washington. However, a French-Algerian identified by the French media as a radical with "a profile similar to the kamikaze pilots" is being held for further questioning by US investigators after his arrest last month.

The attackers and the background to the attacks are not and were not known to him German federal prosecutor

French media have claimed that the FBI failed to follow up information supplied by French secret services that the man, who was taking flying lessons in Boston, had links to Osama Bin Laden.

The German federal prosecutor said on Friday that the Iranian - who telephoned the White House warning of attacks that would "change the world order" - had no knowledge of Tuesday's attack.

"His warnings to US authorities were limited to vague claims about danger to world peace and the world order; he could not cite details," a statement from the federal prosecutor's office said.

"The attackers and the background to the attacks are not and were not known to him," it added.

The White House hung up when the man said he was in detention, but he was interviewed by German authorities and US intelligence services in the wake of the attack.

The French newspaper, Liberation, reported on Friday that the French-Algerian arrested in Boston was due to have been deported, but was now being held "to check any possible links with the fanatic pilots".

On Thursday a correspondent in Washington for the Europe 1 radio station said the man had been arrested with comprehensive documentation about Boeing aircraft and flight manuals.

"He belongs to the Pakistani-Afghan network that trains Osama Bin Laden's soldiers, his best soldiers, soldiers without borders," the correspondent said, adding that all this information had been passed by French investigators to their American colleagues.

However, the US authorities did not follow up the lead, he said: "The investigation that might have prevented everything was not launched."

The 31-year-old man, who was born in St Jean de Luz, had been living in Britain before going to Boston.

Time magazine has also reported that two of the suspected terrorists were on an FBI border watch list, but had nonetheless slipped into the United States.

The two men, who were associated with Islamic Jihad, were on the American Airlines flight which crashed into the Pentagon.

The CIA now believes the first warnings about a "spectacular" act of terror against the US came as early as June.

"A lot of this reporting we had in the summer that gained our attention and had us concerned, but wasn't specific, could have been tied to this," an intelligence officer told Time.

German police have confirmed an Iranian man phoned US police from his deportation cell to warn of the planned attack on the World Trade Centre.

The Lower Saxony Justice Ministry has confirmed the man warned of the impending series of terrorist attacks, but had not been believed.

Spokesman Frank Woesthoff said the man phoned America "several times", but refused to give further details.

He said the US Secret Service had not told the ministry about the calls received from the Langenhagen prison until after the attacks.

"I cannot say anything about the man and the ministry does not know the content of the conversations," he added.

The Hanover daily newspaper Neue Presse reported the 29-year-old was dismissed as mentally unstable when he gave the warning of a terrorist attack to occur this week.

(CNN) -- CNN has learned from federal law enforcement sources the names used by 18 hijackers who authorities believe commandeered four commercial airliners on Tuesday in a coordinated attack on two renowned symbols of American power.

Meanwhile, the Senate passed a resolution authorizing the president to use force to retaliate against the terrorist attacks. The vote was 98-0.

The suspected hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 11, which hit the north tower of the World Trade Center, were Walid Al Shehri, Wail Alsheri aka Waleed Alsheri, Mohammad Atta, Aabdul Alomari and Satam Sugami.

Aboard United Airlines Flight 175, which hit the south tower of the World Trade Center, the suspected hijackers were Marawn Alshehhi, Fayez Ahmed, Mohald Alshehri, Hamza Al Ghamdi and Ahmed Al Ghamdi.

Those believed to be the hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which hit the Pentagon, were Khalid Almihdhar, Majed Moqued, Nawaf Al Hazmi and Salem Al Hazmi.

We would like to correct a report that appeared on CNN. Based on information from multiple law enforcement sources, CNN reported that Adnan Bukhari and Ameer Bukhari of Vero Beach, Florida, were suspected to be two of the pilots who crashed planes into the World Trade Center. CNN later learned that Adnan Bukhari is still in Florida, where he was questioned by the FBI. We are sorry for the misinformation. A federal law enforcement source now tells CNN that Bukhari passed an FBI polygraph and is not considered a suspect. Through his attorney, Bukhari says that he is helping authorities. Ameer Bukhari died in a small plane crash last year. (Amazing! Suddenly he's no longer a suspect!)

The suspected hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in rural Pennsylvania, were Ahmed Al Haznawi, Ahmed Alnami, Ziad Jarrah and Saeed Alghamdi.

Spellings are as they appear on federal documents and may vary from other spellings used.

Law enforcement sources told CNN that they are checking the names against lists of people associated with known terrorist groups -- and believe the lead group in Tuesday's attacks may have been Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

The chief of that group, the sources said, is a top lieutenant of suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden's group, Al Qaeda, is an umbrella group that reportedly coordinates the actions of smaller organizations.

As President Bush prepared to see for himself the devastation inflicted on lower Manhattan, the Defense Department asked that 50,000 reservists join the military effort that follows the coordinated terrorist attacks four days ago on the United States, CNN has learned. (

Bush designated Friday a day of "National Prayer and Remembrance," and asked that Americans head to their places of worship at lunchtime to pray for victims and their families. The president planned to attend a service at the National Cathedral in Washington before traveling to New York. Former Presidents Clinton, Ford and Carter were also expected to attend.

The Defense Department will seek authority to call up the military reservists for "homeland defense." Officials at the Pentagon tell CNN the callup would reinforce warplane patrols of American skies to defend military bases and any other possible targets against attack. Governors in 31 states have already called up 10,000 National Guard troops.

A pair of hijacked commercial airliners plowed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center on Tuesday, followed a half an hour later by another hijacked jet that hit the Pentagon in Washington. A fourth jet hit the ground in rural Pennsylvania.

•By a 96-0 vote, the U.S. Senate passed a $40 billion emergency spending measure to combat terrorism and help recovery efforts in New York and Washington. The House, as it was voting on the measure, paused midway and will resume voting following National Day of Prayer and Remembrance services.

•Search and rescue efforts continued in both Washington and New York, where bad weather had forced a temporary suspension of the operation.

•The list of people missing in New York is approaching 5,000; in Washington nearly 200 people are believed dead. All 45 people aboard the jet that crashed in Pennsylvania died.

•Both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the hijacked jet that hit the Pentagon were recovered overnight, officials told CNN. On Thursday, searchers found the flight data recorder from the Pennsylvania crash.

•Sources at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority told CNN Friday that Reagan National Airport -- located just across the Potomac River from the Pentagon -- is expected to be closed "for the time being."

•The U.S. Coast Guard boarded a Carnival Cruise Line ship off the coast of Miami early Friday and detained two people who authorities determined have a "history of hijacking." According to a law enforcement source, the ship was boarded at 3 a.m. after authorities checked the passenger list. The two were to be handed over to the FBI when the ship was to return to port, about 5 a.m. ET. •The FBI is searching an area at the Thunderbird Motel in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, as part of the investigation surrounding the attacks. Authorities would not release any details about the nature of the search other than to describe it as "pursuing one of many leads into the potential hijackers or those who may have assisted them." •At least eight people were arrested Thursday at airports in New York because of new security measures -- including four people who were seen at one airport before Tuesday's terrorist attacks. All but one were later released. Sen. Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said there is "no evidence" that anyone has been involved in a second wave of attacks like Tuesday's. (Full story) •The Pentagon on Friday was expected to hold several multi-religious services honoring the memory of the attack victims of the Pentagon plane crash. Ecumenical prayer services are scheduled as well as those for Christians, Protestants and Jews. •A fire flared up again Thursday night at the Pentagon, the flames shooting out of the top of the section that crumpled after a hijacked jet plowed into it Tuesday. •Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told CNN's Larry King that any future U.S. military action against those individuals, groups or nations involved in Tuesday's terrorist attacks would be "self-defense." "I don't think of it as retaliation. I don't think of it as punishment," Rumsfeld said. "The United States has every right to defend itself. There is no question that Osama bin Laden has been -- for many years now, by his own pronouncements -- anti-West, anti-U.S., anti- a number of regimes in the Arab world."

This will be an Intelligence war. Is Intelligence on the side of the United States? As a kook (since I am crazy enough to be saying this on the Internet)...past events in this country such as OKC...say no.

"Weep for yourselves and your children."...words spoken two thousand years ago.

My family and I and my staff came up with a great political cartoon - could be used as a symbol for our current crisis. One or more of the Freepers are graphic artists with great skills. At least one helped the Patrick Henry Center in the past. Alas, I've lost his name and email address.

Could anyone assist us in finding the individual(s) who could craft this great political statement? I promise you will love it.

Gary Aldrich - Patrick Henry Center

MamaLucci,

You need to flag them if you want them to catch Gary Aldrich's request. If I got PJ-Comix's handle incorrect, please correct it for me.

See #43.

Freeper P.J. Comix is also very talented, particularly with cartoons.

BLUSH! But actually I only work with illustrators and cartoonists. I don't draw the cartoons myself. BTW, I just worked with Registered on THIS GRAPHIC currently being used to raise funds for the Red Cross.

If you need full comix stories I can help out. I write up the comix stories panel by panel like a script. BTW, if any organization needs comix to be used for instructional purposes, I can also help out on that. One little known fact is that before the early 1950s, the military made extensive use of comix to instruct its personnel in many areas of technical training. Unfortunately, the anti-comix hysteria (led by an idiot shrink named Frederic Wertham) ended all that.

The feds were busy guarding the sucker fish at Klamath Falls, counting the number of fags who have been insulted so far this year so the statistics can be added to next year’s annual FBI “hate crime” report, talking country bumpkins into sawing off shotgun barrels, investigating people who used the “n” word in public, setting forest fires that burn down dozens of homes at places like Los Alamos, making sure that American tourists weren’t bringing in too many blankets and liquor from Mexico, making sure our children were properly being taught the theory of evolution in public schools, looking around Amtrak stations to see if any train passengers looked “nervous”, spying on people who deal in bird feathers, making sure that people in the Southwest didn’t steal any desert cactus or rocks, making sure that men in commercial business offices don’t pinch their secretaries on the butt, scanning the internet for pornography, enforcing affirmative action programs, enforcing the no-smoking rules in federal buildings, fining vacationers for littering in national parks, and totaling up their future retirement benefits.

This modern era of lax intelligence agency attitudes toward domestic terrorists and domestic anti-Americans basically began with the Church Committee of the mid-1970s and the Carter administration. The Church Committee, the Democrats, and the liberal American media in those days were very hostile toward the FBI’s investigations of domestic radical leftists and terrorists, probably because so many sons and daughters of liberal politicians and media people were radical leftists in those days. It was also during that time that the old House Committee on Un-American Activities was abolished. If that Committee were still active today, it could have investigated some of these potential terrorists and it could have demanded to know what the FBI was doing to keep track of them.

>This modern era of lax intelligence agency attitudes ...

They can move fast when they need to.

Check out this thread I just put up: Chicago South Suburb gets 24/7 Air Surveillance

(Check out related threads. There were two "incidents" -- mostly high schoolers marching around chanting "USA USA..." From what I've heard they never got near the mosque. But, just days later, we get a surveillance plane droning overhead...)

I'm not a libertarian. I have no hatred for the government. But I'm starting to really dislike a lot of the people who are making decisions. That's for sure. Mark W.

I think every mosque in this country that has pro-Americans belonging to it, should put up a large array of American flags on their lawns right now. We are in a war, and people need to let other people know where they stand.

I live not far from several important... uhh, “possible targets”, and I’m very upset that no military or law enforcement planes are circling around them. No troops, no cops, no tanks, no nuthin’. Some people don’t realize yet that we are at war.

This just in... FBI just announced they are seeking to employ people who speak both Arabic and English, and they require that that person shall have been a US citizen for ONLY 3 years. I think that three-year limit is a stupid one. What’s wrong with requiring the people to be natural born citizens who have spent a lifetime here?

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